The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-05-25
At the South.

Captain Dawson made a recent adj
dress at Baltimore, from a report of
which we copy as follows: Referring
to the privations to which southern
women were subjected and the fortitude
with which they bore up under them,
the speaker said: Then were starva-
ton parties in vogue. You remember
them. There were no refreshments,
save an abundance of water as tawny
as the historic stream of Father Tiber.
But there was no less merriment, no
less testing, no less coquetting, no less
love-making. The coming events cast
their shadows before, perhaps. There
was something of feverishness in the
joy of those days. But through it all the
women" Our Women in the War D
were undaunted and resolute, trusting
in the God of battles, and believing in
the justice of our cause, as you and |
believe-and as all of us who wore the
confederate gray, and not the rene
gades or apostates, will believe to the
end Concerning the charge so fire.
quently made by northern writer's that
southern women were accustomed to
live in luxurious idleness, Captain
Dawson said: Everywhere the lot of
the women at home was harder than
that of the soldier in the field. A
thousand anXieties were theirs which
were unknown to him. If he were not
killed or wounded in an engagement he
knew it, and he could contentedly
await his next chance; but for days, and
perhaps weeks, the poor women at home
were kept in agonized suspense. Yet
hoi ha de f,tl
for the exercise of all the administra-
tive and executive ability-the power
to direct and the will to command
which the slave system conferred upon
the southern women. Out upon those
who speak of them and write of them
as drones, as women who lived in luXu-
rious incidence. Some of the substi-
tutes for necessary articles which had
become scarce or had entirely disap-
peared from the market are thus de-
scribed There was a host of queer
devices. Shoe-b lacking was made from
the China berry, and it unfortunately
happened, once at least, that bottle
of it which was sent, with quantity of
edibles, to cadet at Virginia Military
Institute, was applied internally instead
of externally. The comment of the
cadet who swallowed it was that the
"catsup was rather insipid." For ordi-
nary candles and lamps there were
many substitutes, such as sycamore
balls split in two and soaked in some
fatty substance. On the large planta-
tions candles were made from beef-tal-
low, with twisted cloth for wicks, or of
tallow and beeswaX. There were also
| Af Of
myrtle-berries. Then the children in
those days, as even in these days and
in the time of the immortal Peggotty,
would burst their buttons. Pins could
take their place, but pins cost IS pa
per. Persimmon, peach and gourd-
seeds were then resorted to. 1t was
only necessary to extract the seeds and
bore holes in them, by which they could
be sewed on, and 10! there was a
button more durable than that of
pearl or porcelain. Exquisite artificial
flowers were made from goose-feath-
ers, and what was considered very
pretty head-dress was made from the
pith of pumpkin. Homemade dyes
were easily devised: For yellow, sas-
safras; for drab, kalmia or dwarf laurel {;
for slate color in cotton and blue-black
in wool or linen, willow bark; for choc-
olate brown, red oak bark; for lead
color, white oak bark; for dyeing cot
ton dun color, sweet gum bark; for
dyeing wool a lead color, the seeds of
guinea corn. Tea was made of sassa-
fras root or blackberry leaf. Coffee
was made of parched meal, rye, wheat
okra, corn or black-eyed peas. Late
in the war it was discovered that
parched sweet potato was the best sub
stitute. For ornaments the girls wore
jewelry of their own making. Dainty
chains and bracelets were formed of
watermelon-seeds, linked together and
vanished and dried. Earrings, pins
and bracelets were made of G. S. army
buttons, and also of palmetto cut into
lace fibers and so prepared and cured
as to be cream-tinted. Cleaning, pearl
like flowers were formed of bleached
and polished fish-scales.' )"
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